Last week, the trailer dropped for Hightown, the murder mystery from Starz that's set in the LGBTQ mecca of Provincetown, Mass. And it telegraphed that the series from creator Rebecca Cutter is dark, sexy, and very queer, especially with out former Chicago Fire star Monica Raymund in the lead role as Jackie Quinones, a party-happy lesbian and fisheries agent who stumbles across the body of a woman who's been murdered and dumped on one of Provincetown's storied beaches.
Filmed in Provincetown last summer with Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison (Mudbound, Fruitvale Station) at the helm of the first couple of episodes, Hightown sets a strong visual tone from the outset. It captures the pure queer joy of Provincetown and also the underbelly of crime and sorrow in the wake of the opioid crisis. As Jackie races to uncover the mystery behind the murder, she also grapples with drug, alcohol, and sex addiction.
Now The Advocate has an exclusive teaser for Hightown that underscores the show's more noir-ish aspects replete with hardscrabble cops and grit.
The official synopsis for the series, out May 17, reads:
"Hightown is set on idyllic Cape Cod and follows one woman's journey to sobriety, intertwined with an unfolding murder investigation. Jackie Quinones (Monica Raymund, Chicago Fire, The Good Wife), a hard-partying National Marine Fisheries Service agent, has her free-wheeling life thrown into disarray when she discovers a body on the beach -- another casualty of Cape Cod's opioid epidemic.
"As a result of this trauma, Jackie takes the first steps toward becoming sober -- until she becomes convinced that it's up to her to solve the murder. Now at odds with Sergeant Ray Abruzzo (James Badge Dale of Only the Brave), an abrasive but effective member of the Cape Cod Interagency Narcotics Unit, Jackie starts to spiral. And she's not alone. Ray, too, spins out of control; losing himself in the investigation. The lives of everyone connected to this murder crash and converge, reminding us just how complicated -- and deadly -- our addictions can be."
Hightown deftly balances the portrayal of the nautical industries in the town at the tip of the cape with depiction of the queer life that has flourished there for nearly a century with the bars, shops, and restaurants that cater to LGBTQ people and the drag queens who line Commercial Street coaxing passers-by into their shows.
The series costars Riley Voelkel, Shane Harper, Atkins Estimond, Amaury Nolasco, Dohn Norwood, and Crystal Lake Evans.
Watch the exclusive teaser below.
